Marxism

• Marxism is a socioeconomic system devised by philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and is outlined in great detail in their seminal work "The Communist Manifesto," published in 1848. The book ultimately sparked revolutions and uprisings throughout Europe as working-class people embraced the idea that wealth should be shared equally with the masses and not concentrated in the hands of a small ruling class, as was the case with the capitalist system at the time.
  
  

Key Concepts

• Marxist thought has several fundamental tenets: the capitalist system divides people into two distinct classes, those who control a country's wealth (the bourgeoisie) and those who work for them (the proletariat); the bourgeoisie get richer by exploiting the proletariat; in addition to holding economic control, the bourgeoisie also exercise ideological control over the proletariat, thereby tricking the workers into thinking this unequal system is natural and normal, which Marx called "false consciousness;" workers will only attain what is rightfully theirs by rising up and forcefully seizing political and economic power from the rich so it can be distributed equally to all citizens, resulting in a new political system Marx called communism.
  
  

Marxism-Leninism

• Decades after the publication of "The Communist Manifesto," Russian philosopher/lawyer/revolutionary Vladimir Lenin interpreted the theories of Marx and Engels to apply to Russia, spearheading the Communist revolution in 1917. This was the first successful Communist revolution, and led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Marxism-Leninism was used for other successful uprisings, including the Cuban revolution of 1959. Marxism-Leninism (a term that Lenin himself never used) diverged from the original theory of Marxism in several significant ways.
  
  

Key Concepts

• Marxism-Leninism differs from classical Marxism in its view that the working class would only be free of the shackles of capitalism if a political party existed that could guide them out of the old system. This party, formed by the workers, would lead the proletariat in overthrowing capitalism. Then, this party would form a new government that would the rule the workers via a dictatorship, with the goal of moving the people toward full-blown communism as outlined by Marx. In this regard, Marxism-Leninism is more concerned with attaining political power than the Marxism of Marx and Engels, which focuses on ideological power.